Department of Children and Families; procurement of contractual services; contract management.

(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Contract manager” means the department employee who is responsible for enforcing the compliance with administrative and programmatic terms and conditions of a contract. The contract manager is the primary point of contact through which all contracting information flows between the department and the contractor. The contract manager is responsible for day-to-day contract oversight, including approval of contract deliverables and invoices. All actions related to the contract shall be initiated by or coordinated with the contract manager. The contract manager maintains the official contract files.

(b) “Contract monitor” means the department employee who is responsible for observing, recording, and reporting to the contract manager and other designated entities the information necessary to assist the contract manager and program management in determining whether the contractor is in compliance with the administrative and programmatic terms and conditions of the contract.

(c) “Department” means the Department of Children and Families.

(d) “Outsourcing” means the process of contracting with an external service provider to provide a service, in whole or in part, while the department retains the responsibility and accountability for the service.

(2) PROCUREMENT OF COMMODITIES AND CONTRACTUAL SERVICES.—

(a) Notwithstanding s. 287.057(3)(e)12., if the department intends to contract with a public postsecondary institution to provide a service, the department must allow all public postsecondary institutions in this state that are accredited by an accrediting agency or association recognized by the database created and maintained by the United States Department of Education to bid on the contract. Thereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a public postsecondary institution intends to subcontract for any service awarded in the contract, the subcontracted service must be procured by competitive procedures.

(b) When it is in the best interest of a defined segment of its consumer population, the department may competitively procure and contract for systems of treatment or service that involve multiple providers, rather than procuring and contracting for treatment or services separately from each participating provider. The department must ensure that all providers that participate in the treatment or service system meet all applicable statutory, regulatory, service quality, and cost control requirements. If other governmental entities or units of special purpose government contribute matching funds to the support of a given system of treatment or service, the department shall formally request information from those funding entities in the procurement process and may take the information received into account in the selection process. If a local government contributes matching funds to support the system of treatment or contracted service and if the match constitutes at least 25 percent of the value of the contract, the department shall afford the governmental match contributor an opportunity to name an employee as one of the persons required by s. 287.057(17) to evaluate or negotiate certain contracts, unless the department sets forth in writing the reason why the inclusion would be contrary to the best interest of the state. Any employee so named by the governmental match contributor shall qualify as one of the persons required by s. 287.057(17). A governmental entity or unit of special purpose government may not name an employee as one of the persons required by s. 287.057(17) if it, or any of its political subdivisions, executive agencies, or special districts, intends to compete for the contract to be awarded. The governmental funding entity or contributor of matching funds must comply with all procurement procedures set forth in s. 287.057 when appropriate and required.

(c) The department may procure and contract for or provide assessment and case management services independently from treatment services.

(3) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS AND PROCESS.—The Department of Children and Families shall review the time period for which the department executes contracts and shall execute multiyear contracts to make the most efficient use of the resources devoted to contract processing and execution. Whenever the department chooses not to use a multiyear contract, a justification for that decision must be contained in the contract. Notwithstanding s. 287.057(15), the department is responsible for establishing a contract management process that requires a member of the department’s Senior Management or Selected Exempt Service to assign in writing the responsibility of a contract to a contract manager. The department shall maintain a set of procedures describing its contract management process which must minimally include the following requirements:

(a) The contract manager shall maintain the official contract file throughout the duration of the contract and for a period not less than 6 years after the termination of the contract.

(b) The contract manager shall review all invoices for compliance with the criteria and payment schedule provided for in the contract and shall approve payment of all invoices before their transmission to the Department of Financial Services for payment.

(c) The contract manager shall maintain a schedule of payments and total amounts disbursed and shall periodically reconcile the records with the state’s official accounting records.

(d) For contracts involving the provision of direct client services, the contract manager shall periodically visit the physical location where the services are delivered and speak directly to clients receiving the services and the staff responsible for delivering the services.

(e) The contract manager shall meet at least once a month directly with the contractor’s representative and maintain records of such meetings.

(f) The contract manager shall periodically document any differences between the required performance measures and the actual performance measures. If a contractor fails to meet and comply with the performance measures established in the contract, the department may allow a reasonable period for the contractor to correct performance deficiencies. If performance deficiencies are not resolved to the satisfaction of the department within the prescribed time, and if no extenuating circumstances can be documented by the contractor to the department’s satisfaction, the department must terminate the contract. The department may not enter into a new contract with that same contractor for the services for which the contract was previously terminated for a period of at least 24 months after the date of termination. The contract manager shall obtain and enforce corrective action plans, if appropriate, and maintain records regarding the completion or failure to complete corrective action items.

(g) The contract manager shall document any contract modifications, which shall include recording any contract amendments as provided for in this section.

(h) The contract manager shall be properly trained before being assigned responsibility for any contract.

(4) CONTRACT MONITORING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCESS.—The department shall establish contract monitoring units staffed by career service employees who report to a member of the Selected Exempt Service or Senior Management Service and who have been properly trained to perform contract monitoring. At least one member of the contract monitoring unit must possess specific knowledge and experience in the contract’s program area. The department shall establish a contract monitoring process that includes, but is not limited to, the following requirements:

(a) Performing a risk assessment at the start of each fiscal year and preparing an annual contract monitoring schedule that considers the level of risk assigned. The department may monitor any contract at any time regardless of whether such monitoring was originally included in the annual contract monitoring schedule.

(b) Preparing a contract monitoring plan, including sampling procedures, before performing onsite monitoring at external locations of a service provider. The plan must include a description of the programmatic, fiscal, and administrative components that will be monitored on site. If appropriate, clinical and therapeutic components may be included.

(c) Conducting analyses of the performance and compliance of an external service provider by means of desk reviews if the external service provider will not be monitored on site during a fiscal year.

(d) Unless the department sets forth in writing the need for an extension, providing a written report presenting the results of the monitoring within 30 days after the completion of the onsite monitoring or desk review.

(e) Developing and maintaining a set of procedures describing the contract monitoring process.